Intersection of CDM and Carmel Valley Road at right.
Dotted red line shows new pedestrian path along CDM.
Cars will be able to park as they do now.
Click to enlarge.

In Aoril 2017 a family with two children and a dog had to walk in the
parking lane or the bike lane at the intersection of
Camino del Mar and Carmel Valley Road.
Photo Virginia Lawrence.
Click to enlarge.

While the City has been concentrating on a 9th to 15th Streetscape Project, Public Works and Engineering successfully negotiated an approved plan for roadway and sidewalk improvements on Camino del Mar between 4th Street/Del Mar Heights Road and Carmel Valley Road. Collaboration with nearby Del Mar residents including residents of Los Arboles, Stratford Court, and the Torrey Pines Community Planning Board that represents residents on Carmel Valley Road in the City of San Diego resulted in an agreement that got a unanimous thumbs up by Council on August 7. Public input on an initial plan presented to Council earlier this year was fraught with competing interests over, for example, the number of traffic lanes, bicyclists safety, and a pedestrian path on the west side. The approved plan includes:

• Adding a second left turn lane from southbound Camino del Mar to Del Mar Heights.
• Maintaining the two northbound lanes and one southbound lane as is.
• Keeping the current free right hand turn from west bound Carmel Valley Road to northbound Camino del Mar.
• Creating a pedestrian path on the west side beginning at 4th Street/ Stratford Court that will allow walkers to more safely access the Torrey Pines State beach. The path will vary in width from 8-feet to 10-feet.
• Painting bike lanes green throughout conflict zones to alert vehicles that bicyclists could be crossing the travel lane.

Staff is also working on suggestions made at the August 7 meeting to coordinate traffic/walk signals to maximize pedestrian safety and continues to meet with interested parties as they move toward completion of the engineering design and construction documents. Construction could begin as early as November of this year. However, staff may apply for grant funding, which would delay the construction start date.